When signals are lost in aggregation: a comparison of language marks and competencies of first-year university students

A study exploring the correlations between the English marks (home language and first additional language) in the National Senior Certificate and the National Benchmark Test (academic literacy) (NBT AL)) scores for University of the Witwatersrand first-year education students. The study found that the same mark in home language and first additional language does not necessarily reflect the same level of English-language academic competence as measured by the NBT AL test. Many students who have been accepted into the university based on their English first additional language marks may need academic support irrespective of their overall performance in the Senior Certificate. There was insufficient evidence to show that the NBT Al is a better discriminator of competency at this point in time.